Blogzilla - a weblog about Mozilla

Another Alternative Firebird and Thunderbird Icon

In the previous post about Alternative Firebird icons, Blogzilla reader deegan points out a link to these fantastic Firebird and Thunderbird icons created by Jairo Boudewyn.

Instructions to change the Firebird icon are here. The same instructions can be used to change the Thunderbird icon in it's directory, however, you must rename the Thunderbird icon to messengerWindow.ico instead of main-window.ico.

Thunderbird Default Theme Controversy

There's been quite a bit a of recent debate about the default Mozilla Thunderbird theme, which currently includes both Qute and Classic icons. Work from sboulema -- mentioned on a Blogzilla posting a little while back -- has sparked a minor controversy over at MozillaZine.

This controversy really comes down to two major points. The first being a call to arms put forth for the creation of a Thunderbird theme at the client's project page:

We desperately need contributors to help build our default Thunderbird theme (by helping generate our default icons for starters). While we are highly motivated, we just don't have the artistic talent to make this happen.

Later on, it is mentioned that "Arvid Axelsson, the designer of the Qute Theme for Firebird has agreed to develop a matching theme for Thunderbird." This being the case, sboulema (seeing the need for quicker improvement in the client's appearance) decided to put out the effort to build a modification.

When done, he emailed Arvid seeking permission for his work to be put onto a new build. Arvid's response was quite simply no, with little explanation as to why. Thunderbird being an open-source, community-based project, Arvid's response should've (at least in my opinion) been a bit better explained. Therein lies the second point.

This entry is not an attempt to rile more fuss, but hopefully clear issues up a bit. Arvid, broke up the "turmoil" (for most purposes) at MozillaZine:

I'm fairly sure the theme will be fully complete before 0.4, with many improvements to the existing icons as well. There may be some new icons in 0.3 too. While some new stuff is ready, I often "synchronize" different parts of the theme during development to ensure consistency; that makes it easier to release more at the same time.

There you have it folks, Qute will be finished come very soon. And thanks to both Arvid and sboulema for the work they've (independently) been a part of.

mozilla.com?

Since blogs are all about hearsay and conjecture, I heard that the domain mozilla.com is being worked on by like real web designers. It doesn't point to anything right now, and I don't know much else. Maybe it will be a new, more consistent design for mozilla.org? Or maybe a new site for the Mozilla Foundation? Anybody know anything else?

Luna Blue Theme for Mozilla Thunderbird

Steven Garrity has posted a very nice Luna Blue Theme for Mozilla Thunderbird on his site Acts of Volition. As mentioned in the post, the theme borrows heavily from the Chris Cook's Luna theme.

It's still marked as "Development Version", but about the only thing I've noticed is that isn't implemented is "small icons" in the Customize window.

Another feature I'd like to see, which is implemented in the previously mentioned modified Qute theme, is that the message icons have forwarded and replied indicators, so that you can hide Status column:

Mozilla Coffee (Benefiting the Mozilla Foundation)

Just bought a bag of Enviro Lizard Mozilla Coffee from RJ Tarpley's Coffee Company. One half of all proceeds from my purchase will go to The Mozilla Foundation. Folks, take up on Tarpley's offer to support the future of Mozilla and get some coffee, as well.

Details from the site:

Simply choose a selection from [Mozilla Coffee] and your order will benefit The Mozilla Foundation. You are welcome to browse the rest of the site and purchase any of RJ Tarpley's fine selections. Just put a note in the comments section that you wish your order to benefit The Mozilla Foundation. Thanks again for your support.

Modified Qute Theme for Mozilla Thunderbird

A frequent MozillaZine poster, sboulema, has recently made some amazing modifications to Mozilla Thunderbird's default theme. Screenshot. He has combined work from the Nitpick Mod and Qute (alongside his own), creating a new look for both the mail client and Address Book.

Hopefully Arvid and Scott will okay the changes so that they'll be checked into a nightly soon. Until then, I'll guide you through the process of installation so you won't have to wait.

First, close Mozilla Thunderbird, if you haven't already done so. Next, go to chrome in your Mozilla Thunderbird directory. You should see a file named qute.jar. Back it up elsewhere and delete the original. Download the modified qute.jar to chrome and open Thunderbird. That's it! You should immediately see the changes. If you have any problems replace your backup and make note of them here.

Note: I made one small change. The Trash icon in the original, unmodified by me, theme didn't come through clearly. So I simply replaced it with one that sboulema had used previously.

Update: The original now has to be installed via Themes under Tools > Options. This modification has continued to be periodically updated and can be accessed at the same link presented before.

Magpie 3.0 Released

Formerly known as Tab Downloader, Ben Goodger has released Magpie 3.0. It's compatible with current Mozilla Firebird nightly builds. Features:

• Save all tabs following the current one into a timestamped folder, and closes the tabs after its saved (Ctrl+Shift+S)
• New - saves all links on a page to a specific set of file types (e.g. all links to JPGs)
• Strips cgi redirects off links
• Adjust the URL numerically using keystrokes via built in digit flipper. (Ctrl+Shift+Z/X)

What's most exciting about Ben Goodger's MozillaZine posting (aside an update to this excellent extension) is that Mozilla Firebird 0.7 will be out "not too far from now."

Thanks Ben for all your hard work (both here and elsewhere).

Mozilla Thunderbird 0.2 Released

Thanks to Scott McGregror, "Mozilla Thunderbird 0.2 has hit the wire!" Download it here. Check out the mail client's release notes for information about recent changes.

Thunderbird has recently seen multiple improvements and is more than plenty stable to be set as default. If you're reading this and still haven't given the client a chance, do so now. You'll be converting friends in no time.